Battlefield 1 Weapons Will Look Old, But Feel Familiar

It’s the second most exciting time of the year for gamers. We are getting our first looks at the games we’ll be buying this holiday season. Yesterday, EA and DICE dropped 15 seconds of footage for Battlefield 1.

We see a small tease of the weapons coming in Battlefield 1 as one character charges another with a melee weapon. Bringing a spiked club to a gunfight? It looks like it works out in this instance.

DICE says the 15-second clip is “in-game footage.” But at the end, we see a small disclaimer saying the footage is “representative of Xbox One.” Translation? It’s probably PC footage. Still, it looks incredible, and I’m sure it will look great across all platforms.

The weapons of Battlefield 1

What kind of weapons are we going to be using in Battlefield 1? That was the biggest question on my mind as I heard the Battlefield series was heading to World War 1. I knew World War 1 wasn’t just a trench war, but I didn’t know that much about it.

The weapons of World War 1 were the precursors to those seen in World War 2 and depicted across the media landscape (movies, games, TV).

DICE is keeping things familiar with Battlefield 1. Weapons are split into six categories; all recognizable by shooter fans. There are Shotguns, LMGs, SMGs, Semi Autos, Pistols and Sniper Rifles.

One tweak we will see in Battlefield 1 comes in the customization department. Obviously, we won’t be seeing red dot sights and other types of attachments from Battlefield’s modern entries. DICE is aiming for more focus when it comes to customization. Here’s what they had to say.

“We definitely want to allow you to customize your weapons in Battlefield 1, but we also heard your feedback that we should try to find a way to do this without adding hundreds of additional attachments. That’s why Battlefield 1 utilizes pre-set Loadouts for each weapon – you’re still able to customize your weapons to make sure they work with your playstyle, but in a more focused way.”

Each weapon can have up to three pre-sets. One example DICE gives us is a shotgun having extra punch to take down foes. Or, maybe you want better accuracy. You will still have the ability to customize attachments such as zoom levels and reticles within each pre-set. We should be getting a much more in-depth look at this during EA’s E3 conference.

Melee is another big focus this go around. We’ve seen it featured in every piece of footage of Battlefield 1 so far. Whether it’s a spiked club or a shovel, DICE is aiming for much more intimate action. DICE also teases how some of these melee weapons also work as tools – letting you cut barbed wire and destroy barricades. And yes, bayonet charges are coming.

DICE also touts how their audio fidelity is improving in Battlefield 1. “You can even tell when your magazine is running out of ammo now – your firing sound slightly changes when your ammo is low.”

What about gadgets? DICE’s Julian Schimek assured fans in a Q&A that while the gadgets will look different “you’ll feel right at home with them.” That could be said for all of Battlefield 1. World War 1 was the testing ground for the weapons, vehicles and gear to come.

And don’t worry. Just because DICE is going back in time, doesn’t mean everything is. You’ll still be slapping weapon skins on your World War 1 weapons.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about Battlefield 1. But I couldn’t be more pumped for a shooter. The fact we don’t have jetpacks, drones and crazy ass killstreaks is a win in my book. I don’t necessarily mind those things. We just don’t need them in every single damn shooter.

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